Medal of Honor
- "1861: There were no military awards or medals at the beginning of the Civil War (1861–1865) except for the Certificate of Merit which was awarded for the Mexican-American War. In the fall of 1861, a proposal for a battlefield decoration for valor was memorandumed to Winfield Scott, the general-in-chief of the army, by Lt. Colonel Edward D. Townsend, an assistant adjutant at the War Department and Scott's chief of staff. Scott however, was strictly against medals being awarded which was the European tradition. After Scott retired in October 1861, the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service. On October 9, U.S. Senator (Iowa) James W. Grimes, Chairman on the Committee on Naval Affairs, proposed Public Resolution Number 82,[17] "to promote the efficiency of the Navy" which included a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor[18] which was signed into law (12Stat329) by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861, "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamen-like qualities during the present war".[19] Secretary Wells directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new military decoration.[20][21][22]
- 1862: On May 15, the United States Navy Department ordered 175 medals with the words "Personal Valor" on the back from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.[23] Senator Henry Wilson, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a resolution on February 15 for an Army Medal of Honor. The resolution was approved by Congress and signed into law on July 12, 1862. This measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such non-commissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection". During the war, Townsend would have some medals delivered to some recipients with a letter requesting acknowledgement of the "Medal of Honor". The letter written and signed by Townsend on behalf of the Secretary of War, stated that the resolution was "to provide for the presentation of medals of honor to the enlisted men of the army and volunteer forces who have distinguished or may distinguish themselves in battle during the present rebellion".[24][25] By mid-November the War Department contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son, who had been responsible for the Navy design, to prepare 2,000 Army medals to be cast at the mint.[26] The Army version had "The Congress to" written on the back of the medal. Both versions were made of copper and coated with bronze, which "gave them a reddish tint."[27][28]
- 1863: Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration. On March 3, Army officers became eligible for the Medal of Honor.[29][30] The Secretary of War first presented the Medal of Honor to six Union Army volunteers on March 25, 1863 in his office.[31]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor#History
Andrew's Raiders, April 1862:
The original mission had been proposed by 33-year-old Virginian and Union spy James J. Andrews, and quickly embraced by Union Generals Buell and Mitchell. In fact Brigadier General Ormsby Mitchell was so enamored with the plan that he personally joined Andrews when he went to three Ohio regiments on April 7, 1862 to enlist volunteers for the daring foray into enemy territory. In all, 23 young soldiers volunteered their services despite Andrew's very limited briefing. Before the mission unfolded, a 24th man joined the group. He was civilian William Campbell who happened to be visiting his friend Private Philip Shadrach at the time. When Shadrach volunteered to join the effort, the 200 pound William Campbell volunteered to join also.
The brave soldiers were told little more than that they should separate into small groups and travel separately through enemy lines to Marietta, Georgia, deep into the heart of Dixie. Four days later 21 of the volunteers had successfully arrived to meet Andrews in the small city just north of Atlanta, and the plans for their daring raid unfolded. Their mission was to purchase tickets as passengers on a Confederate train, then take control of that train and travel north 100 miles to Chattanooga wreaking havoc and burning bridges along the way to disrupt Confederate troop movements and communications.
At 5 A.M. the following morning Andrews and 19 of his volunteers boarded the passenger cars behind the steam engine General. (For whatever reason two of the volunteers failed to meet their train.) It was April 12th, (1862) one year to the day after the opening shots of the Civil War had been fired at Fort Sumter . . .
27th United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton
The Secretary (of War Edwin M. Stanton) was moved by the story. Then a thought crossed his mind and he stepped briefly into an adjoining room at the War Department, returning momentarily with something in his hand. "Congress," he told the young men, "has by recent law ordered medals to be prepared on this model. Your party shall have the first; they will be the first that have been given to private soldiers in this war." Then he stepped before the youngest of the group, Private Jacob Parrott and presented the FIRST Medal of Honor ever awarded. When he had followed suit with the remaining five he walked them to the White House to meet the President (Abraham Lincoln), setting the stage for a tradition that would dominate similar presentations beginning some half century later.
The following September, 9 more of the raiders were presented Medals of Honor for their participation in the raid.
http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/history/history_first.html
"The General is a 1926 American
silent comedy film released by
United Artists. Inspired by the
Great Locomotive Chase, which happened in 1862, the film stars
Buster Keaton who co-directed it with
Clyde Bruckman. It was adapted by
Al Boasberg, Bruckman, Keaton,
Paul Girard Smith (uncredited) and Charles Henry Smith (uncredited) from the memoir
The Great Locomotive Chase by
William Pittenger.
At the time of its initial release,
The General, an action-adventure-comedy made toward the end of the
silent era, wasn't well received by critics or audiences, resulting in mediocre box office (about a half million dollars domestically, and approximately one million worldwide). Because of its then-huge budget ($750,000 supplied by Metro chief
Joseph Schenck) and failure to turn a significant profit, Keaton lost his independence as a filmmaker and was forced into a restrictive deal with
MGM. In 1956, the film entered the
public domain (in the USA) due to the claimant's failure to renew its
copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.
[2]
The film has been reevaluated, and is now considered by critics as one of the
greatest films ever made. In 2007,
The General was ranked #18 by the
American Film Institute on their
10th Anniversary list of the
100 best American movies of all time.
[3]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_(1926_film)
Well, it's not that great of a film (by today's standards; for its time, yes), but it's worth a watch if you have never seen it before:
Buster Keaton - The General (1926) - YouTube
A Gettysburg Story:
July 3, 1863--The Confederate High Water Mark of Pickett's Charge 3:00-3:45 p.m.
22 year-old Lt. Cushing, wounded in the shoulder and groin, continued manning two guns of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. The cannons fired double rounds of canister shot killing and maiming large numbers of Pickett's Virginians surging forward. As the remnants of Pickett's men advanced towards him, Cushing yelled "I will give them one more shot!"
Seconds later, Cushing received a Rebel bullet in the mouth and died instantaneously.
Lt. Cushing was later buried at West Point, New York with full military honors.
On Cemetery Ridge, at the Gettysburg National Military Park, near the spot where Cushing fell are guns of his battery and a memorial marker which was first placed in 1887 by Cushing's family, brothers in arms, and friends.
President Obama Awards the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing (Union Artillery Officer at the Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863)
President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor for Civil War Union Army First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing to Cushing's cousin, Helen Ensign in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Nov. 6, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
In his remarks, President Obama pointed out the significance of those who served and gave their lives at Gettysburg, noting that he may not have had the opportunity to be President if it hadn't been for their sacrifices:
And here today, we know what Lon and the others who fell that day could not… that Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War. It’s also proof, if any was needed, that it was thousands of unknown young soldiers, committing unsung acts of heroism, who saved our union, and freed a people, and reaffirmed our nation as “one Nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” I’m mindful that I might not be standing here today, as President, had it not been for the ultimate sacrifices of those courageous Americans.
The President also highlighted our larger American story -- cultivated by American heroes like Lieutenant Cushing -- and called on us to uphold the values that our service members continue to fight for:
Today we honor just one of those men, Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, who, as Lincoln said, gave their “last full measure of devotion.” His story is part of our larger American story -- one that continues today. The spirit, the courage, the determination that he demonstrated lives on in our brave men and women in uniform who this very day are serving and making sure that they are defending the freedoms that Alonzo helped to preserve. And it’s incumbent on all of us as Americans to uphold the values that they fight for, and to continue to honor their service long after they leave the battlefield -- for decades, even centuries to come.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014...medal-honor-first-lieutenant-alonzo-h-cushing
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/cushing/?from=hp_spotlight
"Army recipients (from the Wikipedia entry)
The Army version is described by the
Institute of Heraldry as "a gold five pointed star, each point tipped with trefoils, 1 1⁄2 inches [3.8 cm] wide, surrounded by a green laurel wreath and suspended from a gold bar inscribed
VALOR, surmounted by an eagle. In the center of the star,
Minerva’s head surrounded by the words
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. On each ray of the star is a green oak leaf. On the reverse is a bar engraved
THE CONGRESS TO with a space for engraving the name of the recipient."
[43] The pendant and suspension bar are made of gilding metal, with the eye, jump rings, and suspension ring made of red brass.
[44] The finish on the pendant and suspension bar is hard enameled, gold plated, and rose gold plated, with polished highlights.
[44]"
